European airports to lift liquids ban; is U.S. next?

Are you tired of having airport security screeners toss away your bottles of water, shampoo or lotion? Change is on the way in some parts of the world.

Battelle, a nonprofit research and development organization in Ohio, has built a screening device that London's Heathrow Airport began installing last week to test liquids carried by passengers onto planes. Heathrow Airport screeners will begin using the device in January, when the European Union will start allowing some liquids, aerosols and gels onto planes under a phased timetable.

In the U.S., Transportation Security Administration officials are looking into several technologies for liquids screening. Battelle officials say their liquids scanner, the LS10, is among those devices.

But the TSA says you shouldn't expect to carry your favorite bottle of soda or shampoo onboard at U.S. airports in the near future.

"Liquid explosives are a serious threat, and we aren't ready to move away from the ban on liquids," the TSA said in a statement.

The test, which involves placing a bottle of liquid into a device that resembles a slot machine, takes two to five seconds per container.

To start, Heathrow will let passengers carry onboard duty-free liquids bought in the airport and medicine. It plans to ease its policy to allow other liquids within a year or so.

In Europe and in the U.S., passengers are not allowed to bring containers with more than 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) of liquid in carry-on bags onto a commercial plane.

FAA rules on electronic devices will help parents

Parents of small children may be cheering the loudest over news that five of the nation's largest carriers have been cleared to let passengers use portable electronic devices throughout commercial flights.

A new survey of air travelers found that the most important aspect of the new policy is it will make it easier to keep children entertained.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Oct. 31 that it will let passengers use e-readers, tablets, music players and other hand-held devices throughout a flight as long as the gadgets are switched to "airplane mode" and are emitting no signal.

The new rule still requires that passengers put away heavier devices, such as laptops, that could tumble free during turbulence. Cellphone calls are also still banned.

In an online survey of 744 adults by satellite television company Dish Network Corp., respondents said the most important aspects of the rule change are that the electronic devices will keep children entertained (26%) and enable fliers to catch up on email (24%) and read books (17%).